Halal Heartbeat

Chapter 15

Manal

I wake up with my hair tangled in my face and the sun shining on me. I turn to my side and see my husband, lying peacefully still beside me. I smile.

So this is what falling in love feels like?

And it's nothing like I imagined. "Mazin? Mazin, get up." I say, tapping him on the shoulder. He groans. "Hold on, five more minutes." He cuddles closer to me. After a few more minutes of lying in bed eventually, we both get up. I brush my teeth, comb my hair and slip a pink summer dress on. "You look nice," Mazin smirks, stepping out of the bathroom. "Ok, hurry up and get changed because we'll miss our flight. And don't forget that we still need to have breakfast." I scold. After a few more minutes, we're walking out of the hotel, hand in hand. "Where do you want to eat?" He asks. "I was looking over breakfast places this morning and there's a cute cafe nearby. It's called London Fog." Mazin snorts. "A cafe, for breakfast?" I stare at him as if the answer is obvious. "Mazin, I'm talking croissants, pastries, sandwiches," I pause, waiting for his reaction. "Clearly you've never been to a cafe." I chuckle. He smiles and pulls me close towards him.

"Can I please get a matcha latte with extra cream, chia seed pudding, and a slice of french toast?" The waiter jots my order down and looks Mazin's way. "What she said, please. I've never been here." The waiter heads down to hand in our order, and we're left alone again. It feels awkward. I know that since we're married we're halal to each other and it's much easier to talk and be together, but somehow it still feels weird. As if I'm shy, or something. "Hey, what's wrong?" Mazin picks up. "Nothing, it's just that I can't believe we're actually married, you know? Do you feel that way?" He pulls his face into a puzzled expression. "What way?" The waiter comes down with our lattes, pudding, and toast. I thank the waiter, then answer Mazin's question. "Yes, we're married, but doesn't it feel weird or awkward? I just don't want to do the wrong thing or not be who you expected me to be." I sigh. He takes my hands in his and kisses them. "Manal, you're the best thing that ever happened to me. And you're the perfect wife." I take my hands back and smirk. "We've only been married for a day, how could you know?" He shrugs. "I just do." We dig in to our food and once we've finished, we walk back to the hotel to grab our bags and sign out at reception. We call a taxi and as I'm trying to put my bag in, Mazin takes it from me. "Love go sit down, it's fine." I blush and take a seat. "It's not that you're not strong enough, I just want you to be relaxed for the flight." Butterflies erupt and are flying wild in my stomach, I just want to scream. Instead, I pull out my phone and call Mia while I'm waiting for Mazin and the driver to place all the bags in the car. It'll take them a while, since I'm an over packer. "Oh my God, Manal?! I didn't want to call you because I knew you'd be living it up with your husband but girl, what are you doing? Go enjoy yourself!" She scolds. I laugh. "Mia last night was a dream! Thanks for making my wedding day a fairy tale," I begin. "But listen, guess what just happened?" I ask intriguingly. "What, are you pregnant already?!" She asks, horrified and confused. I giggle at her reaction. "Oh my God, no, just listen! So we're signing out of the hotel and I'm trying to place my bag in the trunk, right? Then he grabs the bag from me and tells me to sit down," She gasps. "But get this: Afterwards, he's like "It's not that you're not strong, I just want you to be relaxed". He's so sweet!" Mia and I chat for a while, but then I leave her because Mazin and the driver are coming in.

After we get to Paris, it's already 7 P.M. I decide to take an hour or two to nap and then Mazin and I go sightseeing and shopping. "You down for ice cream?" He suggests, pointing to a nearby parlor. "Oh my God, it looks so fancy! Yes, I'd love to." I say, wrapping him in a hug. "I love you." I say, looking up at him. "Me too." We continue strolling, ice cream in our hands and going in from shop to shop. I picked nutella and pistachio in a cone and Mazin went for strawberry mango twist. "You're so weird, who goes out for ice cream and gets a fruit flavour?" Mazin's taken aback. "Um, it's a very common thing." I shake my head. "Fine then, let me have a lick and see how good it is." He hands me his ice cream and as the coldness and flavour touch the tip of my tongue, I'm in love. I hate to admit it, but it's delicious. "Hmm, not bad." I say, masking my true thoughts. "Be quiet, you know you love it." He hands me his cone again and this time, I eat about half of it. "Here, let's switch." I suggest. Before Mazin can even protest, I take his ice cream, hand him mine, and begin. After walking for a bit longer, my legs get tired so we sit at a table and chat. "Well we both start working in three weeks," Mazin starts. "How do you feel about working at the same place?" I shrug. "Frankly, I don't mind it. We both have such busy schedules and I don't want to be like those couples who hardly see their spouse, even at home, because work is an issue." Mazin smiles. "Alright. How long's your mat leave?" I slap him on the shoulder. "I don't know, and I don't want to find out!" He sighs. "Why not? Don't you want a little one?" I take a breath and a moment to think about it. Of course I want a baby. But right now, my focus is work and Mazin, that's all. Adding a child to the mix would complicate things. "Inshallah, but we just got married. Don't you think that it's a little to soon?" Aside from that, I'm scared. Having an extra living, breathing, mini human to take care of is a big liability. And especially with having your first child, that kid is like the lab rat for your science experiment. It's your first time having to raise a kid and what if you mess it all up? Mazin places his hand on mine. "With the right timing, everything comes, Inshallah." I smile. I'm glad he understood.

Mazin

After two weeks of Paris, we've got one week left with our families. Ahmed, Manal's brother, picks us up from the airport. "So, how was it? Did you enjoy yourselves, Inshallah?" He asks. I chuckle. "Alhamdullillah, I had fun on my part, did you?" I turn to Manal, smirking. "Of course I did! The Eiffel Tower was gorgeous, Ahmed, you would have loved it!" She reminisces. As the car ride goes on, we fill Ahmed in on our vacation. "Oh, they're here!" Manal's mom exclaims as we pull into their driveway. "Mazin, Manal, how are you two?!" I smile. "Alhamdullillah, Hajjah. Couldn't be better." I pull her into a warm embrace and say Salam to everyone (I call Manal's mother Hajjah and her father Hajj as we do in Arab countries, out of respect). As Ahmed, Hajj, and I unload the luggage from the car, the scent of chicken tagine, fish chermoula, harira, and brochettes trickle through the air. I inhale deeply and sigh. "Boys, come on in, food is ready!" Hajjah calls. We unload the last of the bags and file into the house. I take a seat beside Hajj and Ahmed at the dinner table and Manal, Amina, and Hajjah are handing out food. Manal's blushing as she hands me my plate so I smile. Amina looks at us with goo-goo eyes and Manal slaps her lightly on the shoulder. "Did you all say Bismillah, in the name of Allah?" Hajjah asks. We all nod and dig in right after. "Mashallah, Hajjah, you've outdone yourself again." "Thank you Habibi," She pauses, taking a slurp of her harira. "By the way, your family is on their way." Shortly after the doorbell rings, my family walk into the door. "Alsalamulaikum." I greet them. "Waalaikumalsalam, where's the beautiful bride?" Manal giggles at my father's comment. I've never seen her so shy.

The rest of the night is filled with tea, coffee, dessert, and conversation. But by eleven, everyone starts leaving. Manal and I are staying at her family home until we find a place of our own. I walk into our bedroom and I find Manal on her prayer mat, reading Quran. "Alsalamulaikum, everything ok Habibi?" She asks. I smile. "Yeah, everything's fine. I'm going to bed, you coming?" I ask. I pull the covers over me. "Ok, in a bit Inshallah." She puts away her Quran and steps into the bathroom. I go on my phone and in a few minutes, I feel something jump on the bed. I gasp out of fear and Manal is laughing. "That wasn't funny, you scared me!" I complain, trying to hide my laughter. "Your reaction was priceless!" She exclaims. I put my phone down and lie on my side of the bed. "Come on, don't be mad. I was just kidding," I continue giving her the silent treatment. "Whatever, I love you." She snuggles up to me and pecks me on the cheek. I put my arm around her and play with her hair. "I love you too."